There are a variety of electrical connectors which electrically interconnect an uninsulated tap conductor wire to an uninsulated main conductor wire at a field site remote from a factory environment and using manual or portable power tools. One conventional type generally comprises a bolt which is split into two prongs extending upwardly from the unsplit bolt end defining a wire-receiving channel in which the main wire and an end portion of the tap wire are disposed, and a nut is torqued onto the bifurcate bolt using conventional manual (or automatic) tools until an insert trapped in the bolt and nut assembly is pressed against a top one of the wires and urges the top wire against the bottom wire and the unsplit end of the bolt. One such connector is sold by Burndy Corporation, Norwalk, Conn. under the trade name SERVIT Service Connectors. Such connectors are also disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,873,559; 2,137,834; 2,164,006; 2,180,931 and 2,450,158; U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,446 also discloses utilization of a shaped spacer between the pair of wires. The inserts and spacers preferably have shallow V-shaped grooves along their elongate wire-engaging surfaces, which surfaces may be serrated transversely for improved wire engaging characteristics.
It would be desirable to provide a means for assuring that an acceptable level of high compression has been attained using conventional tools.
It would also be desirable to provide a means for improving the longevity of the electrical interconnection under continuous high compression.